Ras Mohammed or Tiran: which snorkelling day from Sharm?

Both are full days on a boat. Both end with lunch on deck and salt in your hair. The difference is the water. Ras Mohammed is a national park at the very tip of Sinai, with deep reef walls, sheltered bays and the White Island sandbar. The Tiran reefs sit out in a strait, in open water where the current runs harder. Here is how to choose between them, and what each trip on daynight actually includes.

The short answer

Choose Ras Mohammed if it's your first Red Sea snorkel, if you're travelling with children, or if you'd like a swim off a sandbar as well as a reef. Choose Tiran if everyone in the group swims confidently and you want open-water reefs with names divers know, Jackson and Woodhouse among them. With only one sea day, the decision usually comes down to the weakest swimmer in your group, not to which reef is “better”.

Where they are, and why the water is different

Ras Mohammed is the southern point of the Sinai Peninsula, where the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba meet. It has been protected since 1983. The reefs here are walls: at Shark Reef the coral drops away more than 800 metres into blue water, and the current that sweeps past the point is what brings the fish in. On most days the boats tie up in the calmer bays inside the park, and the drop-off is something you look over rather than swim across.

Tiran lies the other way, north-east of Sharm, where the Strait of Tiran narrows to about 13 km between Sinai and the Arabian side. Four reefs sit in the middle of the channel: Gordon, Thomas, Woodhouse and Jackson. You snorkel the reefs; you don't land on Tiran Island, which is bare and uninhabited. Because the reefs stand in the open strait, the water moves more, and the currents there are often described as strong. Expect to swim in open water, with a guide close by.

The Ras Mohammed days on daynight

There are four ways into the park by sea and one by land. What changes is the boat, the length of the day and what the ticket covers. For the park itself, from the mangroves to the White Island tide, read our Ras Mohammed National Park guide.

• Ras Mohammed & White Island boat trip: two guided snorkel stops plus White Island and the Stingray station, leaving at 08:30 for about 8 hours. The snorkel kit and the park entry fee are included, and there's a ticket with a guided intro dive.
• Ras Mohammed and White Island by boat: about 6 hours with the park fee and a buffet lunch included. Snorkel gear isn't, so bring your own mask. The guides speak English, Italian and Russian.
• Shared Ras Mohammed boat day with dive options: a lower fare, with snorkelling, intro-dive and certified-diver tickets. The park fee, snorkel gear and wetsuits are paid separately, in cash, on the day.
• Ras Mohammed aboard a sailing yacht: a slower day under sail, a RIB across to the White Island sandbar, a seafood lunch and a certified snorkelling instructor. The park fee, gear and wetsuit are extra.
• Ras Mohammed by road: a bus instead of a boat, about 5 hours, with the guide, gear and park fee included. There's no lunch on this one.

The Tiran days on daynight

• Tiran Island snorkelling trip: two stops, at Jackson and Woodhouse, with a buffet lunch on board between them, about 6 hours in all. Snorkel gear isn't on the inclusions list, so bring a mask or ask when you book.
• Tiran Island boat day: a shared boat with snorkel stops and lunch, plus an intro-dive ticket and a two-dive ticket for certified divers. Gear and wetsuits are hired on board at extra cost.
• Private speedboat to Tiran: the boat and a skipper for your group alone, priced per boat by the hour, with snorkelling equipment and life jackets included.

Beginners, children and non-swimmers

For a first snorkel, Ras Mohammed is the easier day. The stops are chosen for shelter, and White Island gives you somewhere to stand: the sandbar sits in shallow turquoise water, and at the right tide it's waist-deep. Children who swim well manage either day in a life jacket with an adult beside them. Children who don't swim are happier at Ras Mohammed, or on a glass-bottom boat that shows the coral through the hull. Our snorkelling guide to Sharm El Sheikh covers safety and gear in more detail.

Intro dives and certified divers

The shared Ras Mohammed and Tiran boat days each have a ticket with a first dive alongside an instructor, no licence needed, and a ticket with two guided dives for certified divers. The Ras Mohammed boat trip from Al Sakaleyah Port has an intro-dive ticket too. Divers and snorkellers share the same deck all day.

Both in one day, or a private boat?

No trip on daynight covers Ras Mohammed and Tiran on the same day. They lie in opposite directions from Sharm, and each is a full day on a shared boat. If you'd rather choose your own reef and your own hours, the private speedboat goes out to Tiran and is priced per boat, not per person. There's also a one-hour private speedboat along the coast for a shorter look. Every other boat trip from Sharm is on the boat trips and water sports page.

What to bring on either day

• Your swimsuit under your clothes, a towel and a dry change for the ride back.
• A hat and a long-sleeved top: the sun off the water is strong even in winter, and deck shade fills up.
• Your own mask if the ticket doesn't include gear, or if you'd rather not hire one.

Still weighing it up? Look at the season too: our Sharm El Sheikh weather by month shows how warm the sea is when you travel, and the things to do in Sharm page has every day out, on land and at sea.